“Leesville made me look at school differently, beyond myself, and look at what could be done for kids. We were trying to raise expectations to push kids so that they could achieve great things, and that’s what happened.”
Stephen Gainey was part of the Leesville community twice. The first time he was an assistant principal for 5 years under the school’s original principal Richard Murphey. Then the second time he became principal at Leesville and stayed for 4 and a half years. In the beginning, he came when the school was only 4 years old, and “it was a fantastic place from the moment [he] stepped foot inside the door, it was just the most unbelievable environment, there’s never been a school like that ever.” When interviewing Mr. Gainey via zoom call it was clear how much he loves LRHS, from the amazing faculty to the incredible student body — he specifically talked about those first teachers like Mrs. Dinkenor, Mrs. Anderson, and many others who “taught [him] how to be a principal.” Today he is a superintendent in Randolph county and looks back on his time at Leesville fondly.
“Leesville made me look at school differently, beyond myself, and look at what could be done for kids. We were trying to raise expectations to push kids so that they could achieve great things, and that’s what happened.”